Jackal Among Snakes

Ultimately, though the Age of Fury had its troubles, there’s no denying that the Blackgard Union emerged from the other side of it better than they did the years before. The Great Chu had been cemented as an economic dependent, and trade agreements were made that favored the Blackgard Union. The population continued to boom under the imperial court’s stewardship as the children of the last age began families of their own. Advances in technology permitted such large families, and new, burgeoning fields rose up to offer new opportunities just as old ones died.

The Blackgard Union was highly dynamic, and its younger generation were open—even pursuant of— changes far unlike those seen before the Last Calamity. A great many traditionalist values had been rejected—the notion of staying in the same farm generation after generation, tilling the soil until one day your children pick up the plough had died. The Age of Revolutions was the great explosion that brought to attention this trend, which before had been bubbling under the surface.

Cities in particular became larger than they ever had been. Large urban centers—the most prominent of which is the city of Blackgard—came to dominate society, in stark contrast to how rural landholders once did. No longer did nobles claiming vast tracts of farmland have unilateral influence on society—rather, things were spread out among a far larger number of people, each of whom could pursue amenities that were only the privilege of nobility. Cities were the highest expression of that change.

If what Argrave said all those years ago in the Age of Reclamation is true—that he and his wife had always intended on stepping aside—then the point could easily be made that the Age of Revolutions is the crowning achievement of their government’s reign. If that was merely something he said to persuade people, then the fact stands that the people made his words manifest. This time period marked a shift where power was increasingly stripped away from the imperial court, and the Blackgard Union turned to a different manner of governance altogether.

This came to be from a myriad of factors, foremost among them being the notions of philosophy and culture sown in the last age and the rapid advance of technology supported by the crown. Productivity increased tenfold, allowing one man to do what once would take ten, or taking one hour to do what once would’ve taken ten. The Age of Revolutions is named thus because it is not merely one revolution. Rather, it encompasses the cultural, political, financial, and industrial changes of the age that buoyed not only the nation itself, but the entire world.

Age of Revolutions, 38-92 AC

The most notable fact about the Age of Revolutions is that no wars of aggression were started during its 54 years. Even in the supposedly glorious Age of Reclamation, countless warlords were put down by the might of the imperial army. This time of unprecedented peace made the army stagnate, some suggest, but nevertheless paved the way for an incredible flourishing of other aspects of the nation.

To explain the dramatic shift, it would be best to begin at the backbone of the nation. The whole of the Blackgard Union became better connected as infrastructure improved in quality. The Great Chu had canals allowing high-speed transfer, but these were laborious, expensive to maintain, and not necessarily cost-efficient. Conceptualized in the early 40s, the first railroad was laid in 51AC, bridging the major urban centers of New Relize and Blackgard. By 60AC, railroads had become so prominent one could travel from Seteth deep in the Burnt Desert to Quadreign in the heart of the north in a little less than two hours. Railcars, powered by advances in enchanting, were highly-efficient and cost-effective, and proved to be one of the backbones for a revolution in commerce.

Without war, and with the Great Chu as a solid ally, trade flourished. Veidimen displaced by the Age of Fury spearheaded trade routes. Many had lost house and home, had a seafaring tradition that still lived strong, and intimately understood the terrain of the Great Chu; their virtues were natural. Their polygamist practices had essentially died off by 40AC, and were made formally illegal in 41AC. Polygamy had technically been illegal for a long while, but the law was antiquated and difficult to enforce justly without sundering children from parents. They came to be thoroughly integrated.

Trade was one of the largest instruments for change, facilitating the transfer of ideas, goods, and wealth. Vital trade arteries, as Blackgard was, grew by virtue of the volume of traffic. The growth of trade also allowed the pet project of the crown to come into fruition: namely, paper currencies. Bills of credit—or more simply credits—came into prominence in a major way. These papers, imbued with a particular magic signature, could be exchanged for gold coins around the nation. The ease at which these could be used propelled trade to infinitely higher heights, making purchases large and small much easier and the transfer of large quantities of money more feasible.

Trade grew in tandem with another tailwind for urbanization—industrialization. Craftsmanship, artisanry, and innovation were hallmarks of the age. With power and wealth distributed more evenly among the people of the age, there was a growing demand for certain outputs—luxury products, entertainment. Industries grew to meet these needs, improving their production methods or putting creative talents to work in grand displays of artistry. What was once the reserve of the King of Vasquer became common fixtures in homes, from silk clothing to finely-carved woodworks. Certain production processes were massively streamlined. Workshops of the age came to produce one hundred times the product they had merely years before.

In the past, knowing letters and numbers was of use to only a few classes of people—merchants, nobles, and spellcasters most prominently among them. With increased urbanization, literacy and numeracy became infinitely more common things. Now, it wasn’t unusual for the children of farmers to know how to read. Farms required less labor, while opportunities arose in cities every single day. A baseline education was simply a necessity to handle a great many of new opportunities in the growing urban centers.

These forces for change, myriad as they were, might’ve faltered. In governments past, innovation and competition had been restricted by the government. Often, monopoly charters were given to certain factions to placate, win support, and promote stability. The Blackgard Union had no such practices—indeed, competition was a lauded virtue, provided it was done within the realm of what was legal. It was an undoubtedly chaotic, but highly productive sector of life in the nation.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

The importance of commerce and industry cannot be overstated as a force for the changes of the time. It marked the creation of entirely new classes in society—classes that would prove to be infinitely more productive than those of the past, but also vastly larger. Society in the Berendar of yesteryear was largely focused around agriculture. While farmland remained prominent, it no longer held the heart of the nation in its grasp. Rather, those engaged in commerce and production rose to prominence.

Also of note is the shift in culture. The rise of cities had the side effect of changing the mindsets of the malleable youth. The Age of Fury in the Blackgard Union stood as an example of standing up to the authority of the government. The faiths of the day often directly resisted interference from the government, furthering the idea that governmental authority was not unquestionable. Moreover, some bore skepticism that the war in the Great Chu had been handled properly.

Art, literature, and more expressions of creativity than came be named transitioned from being expressions of beauty to expressions of life’s deeper complexities. Works of the day came to question life, death, and all that takes place between those two states of being. This represented, once again, the sea change away from the past. Gone were the days where only lords and ladies could support art, and only in service of ideas they wished promoted.

With the rise of a far larger class of powerholders came the recognition of a need for a new style of living. As people became better educated, more knowledgeable about the happenings of the world, they began to form opinions on what was happening. The natural result of those opinions came the idea that they, themselves, might have a better solution to the problems of the day.

But before they could even demand liberties… they found them granted. The government of the Blackgard Union, like a master gardener, had been carefully tending this growth. It cut away the excess elegantly, provided water where it was best suited, and above all, had amply invigorated the soil from which these revolutions sprung.

In 38AC, the imperial court was perhaps at the apex of its power. The imperial army was incredibly large, and had many able-bodied veterans in its ranks. By 92AC, the entire political landscape had shifted. Those changes are best illustrated through the lens of the imperial family, however, and so I shall save the specifics for next section which detail their changing role.